The present invention relates to a device for determining material parameters, such as water content, in a dielectric medium flowing through a pipeline by means of microwave measurements.
Microwave transmission or reflection measurements are a known method for determining material parameters, such as the water content, of a defined sample by means of the interaction of microwaves with this sample. In this process, the microwave radiation damping and phase shift as functions frequency are evaluated to provide a measure of the material parameter of the sample to be determined, for example.
A known option is to place the sample in a waveguide and then take transmission or reflection measurements. This method requires that discrete samples of the material to be examined be removed from time to time and placed, in a suitable form and quantity, inside a waveguide.
This method is also essentially applicable to liquid samples, but requires additional work cycles for taking a sample within defined time intervals.